A Vampire Love Story
by Youngbountygirl
Summary: A collection of stories about Vladimir Lupei and the conflicts with his relationships with everyone as a vampire. One good ending is only the beginning of more conflicts. Summeries of each one shot at the top of each story per chapter.
1. Rosie Kirkland

**Man, I love writing EngRoma fics. This one had been stuck on me for a long time. I'm sorry, but these two are just too cute. This time, it's a bit more obvious and the story is longer and more descriptive instead of vague like the last one. If there was any reason why this is my favorite pairing, this would be the reason. As for why I didn't include Lukas? Uh... oh look, squirrel! Seriously, wait until the next one shot.**

 **Summery:** **When I was ten years old, I met and befriended Vladimir Lupei. We became best friends and would eventually fall in love. Though, what I never would have expected is to find out that Vlad is a vampire and is about to go through his final transformation. I thought this would be the end of us, but it is only the beginning.**

Fiction has always been my favorite. Fantasy always took me to daring places full of magical creatures and wild imagination. Adventure always took me to daring places of danger and battles. Comedy reminded me how funny life can be sometimes. Horror reminded me that we all have something to be afraid of that we must face in our everyday life. Tragedy shows us how we all must face death and grief. Then, of course, there is Love.

I have never written a love story before and I honestly had little experience in that sort of thing. It's not to say I never kissed a guy before. It's not to say I have never dated anyone, asked him out, go on dates, hold hands and the whole nine yards. It's not even to say that I have never had any desires to be close to him, to hold him, kiss him, never let go, never leave him, think of the future for the both of us. I have experienced all of that, but only with one fellow.

I wish I could say that I am like Francine, who has dated every bloody ninny in school and has experienced it all. I'm sure she's written a better romance story than what I'm writing. I wish I could say I am like my brother Alfred, who is currently dating a very lovely girl and had dated two other lovely ladies during middle school. Unfortunately, I have only shared all these romantic experiences and passions with one man, who I still am not certain if this could truly be love or not.

I'm sure you're thinking that I must be some sort of dumb teenage girl, heart-stricken over a drop-dead gorgeous man with eyes of an angel that knows how to sweep me off my feet and leave me breathless. I suppose there is some truth to that, but not in the reason you think. You see, the man I experienced this romance with is a vampire.

If fiction applies, it must mean that this man is some sort of Edward Cullen or some handsome vampire from these bloody Anime shows that Sakura watches. Oh, how I wish that were so. Oh, how I wish it were like Twilight, then perhaps life would be easier. But, reality hits me in the face like Elizabetha's frying pan.

First off, I must imply that I've known this man, since we were children. At the time, he wasn't a vampire and I did not know his background. I only saw him as my friend, my best friend. His name was Vladimir Lupei. We were ten years old when we first met. At the time, his eyes were almost the color of coal. He was always cheerful, looking at the glass half full. We played on the slides and he would push me a bit too hard and I would fall on my face in the sand. He'd laugh, I'd get angry, I'd throw sand at him, then we'd chase each other before running out of breath and just lay under the tree. Vlad always teased me. I would call him _bully_ , but only playfully. He was my friend and my companion.

As children, we grew up and never left each other. I enjoyed his company and fascination with books and games like Dungeons and Dragons. By that time, I got rid of the french braids and stuck with pigtails at age 12. Vladimir was the first to notice.

"What happened to your hair, Rosie?" Vladimir asked me.

I shrugged and replied, "I simply grew out of them. I like my hair like this anyways."

"Aww, but your hair was so pretty before," Vladimir said. It was the first time he ever called me _pretty_ or _beautiful_. I thought nothing of it, but I still kept those words in my heart.

My hair wasn't the only thing that changed. Vladimir's short, boyish hair began to grow longer. He even decided to wear this strange hat to the side, which I decided to compliment at age 13.

"I love your new hat," I said casually.

"Really? I saw it on the window and I thought, 'that would look so cool on me,'" Vladimir said with his grin, feeling proud for his little hat. I giggled.

"It looks cute."

"Ah, you're such a girl."

"Oh hush. I'm just being honest."

"So am I," Vladimir grinned. That was the first time I ever felt truly flattered by his words.

Strangely enough, even throughout middle school, I never dated or found romantic interest with anyone. I saw no need for it. My only goal was to work hard in school, get good grades and read on the side. I had all my plans all set for the future. I was not quite sure what I wanted to be. In my early stages of growing up, I wanted to be a rock star. I set myself up for guitar lessons and wrote my own music. Vladimir would always support me and cheer me on in the crowds, while I was performing with my band: Alfred, Kiku and Gilbert. Vladimir wasn't a musician, since he was kind of a nerd and would rather play roleplaying games. He wasn't a planner.

Despite not dating anyone in middle school, it wasn't to say I never had a crush on anyone. Of course I would. It was a frog of all people, Francis Bonnefoy, whom I know hate with a dying passion. I was determined to be courageous and confess my feelings to him. I had everything planned. It was to be the Valentines Day Dance in a week and I had bought a heart-shaped box of chocolates with a small note with hearts, confessing my love for him before asking him to the dance. I placed them inside his desk at Homeroom and I was to watch him open it before receiving his answer.

Francis walked to his desk, noticed the chocolates, then opened it as the note on the top of the box with with hearts began flying away from his direction. He smiled and chuckled as he began eating the chocolates then giving some to three other beautiful girls, who giggled happily at the lovely gift I gave him. I felt my heart shatter to pieces as I ran out of the classroom, not caring about the others around me, hiding in the bathroom and crying my eyes out. It was that moment I learned that Francis was a tramp and would see me as no more than another pretty girl he would take advantage of. On top of it all, those chocolates meant nothing to him or he would have not given them to his other girlfriends I had embarrassingly not known he had been dating. I felt so stupid and embarrassed.

"Rose!" I heard Vlad's voice through the other side of the stall I was in. He knocked on the stall door. "May I come in?"

I slowly got on my feet. They felt like jello. I opened the stall door, my head bowing in shame with my eyes as red as strawberries. There were no words to be said, but Vladimir did something that took all of that embarrassment and shame away: he hugged me. I cried even more in his chest, his white school uniform shirt soaked and stained with my tears. He petted my head as my weeping grew. That was the first time he ever showed me physical contact. I would later learn that Francis saw the note and apologized to me for his behavior, even willing to accept my invitation. I refused, of course, and went with Vladimir as friends instead. I was probably close to 14 years old at the time.

At age 15, I got my first job as a babysitter. I was very good with children and loved them to death. There was also the fact I had experience with babysitting my youngest brother Peter and niece Patty from Australia. I was making money on my own and had plans on eventually getting a real job by next year at a local department store. Vladimir, of course, didn't bother job searching, since he was enjoying himself with his role-playing and reading. I once asked him what he planned on doing with his life.

"Meh, I don't know. I suppose I could be a magician or something," Vladimir replied, shrugging.

"But, aren't you concerned for your future? Magicians don't make a lot of money to feed a family of three," I replied.

Vladimir just laughed, replying, "whoa, aren't you getting a little carried away. I'm not planning on getting married or anything."

"But, you could. You have to take those things into consideration."

"Rosie, we're 15 years old. We don't need to worry about trivial things like that. Just kick back and smell the roses. I mean, your name is Rosie."

"Vlad, we'll be going to High School next year. In the next four years, we'll be going to college, and then what? You're growing into a man. We haven't even started dating anyone yet."

"We'll get there. We'll get there. Just enjoy life, while we're young. Adulthood will be far longer than being teens. I want us to enjoy what we have right now before it goes away. So... enjoy it. Don't rush it."

I sighed, and roll my eyes as Vladimir gave me one of his dirty smirks. He meant well and I knew he did, but I would never know what those words truly meant. It would not be until it was too late. I would not even know the feelings I have had for Vladimir that blossomed into a rosebush full of beauty and its thorns that stung to the point it bled.

I remember that very day when I noticed Vladimir seemed a bit off. I chose not to worry about it and brushed it off. But, it continued and lasted at least a week. I finally decided to ask him what was wrong. It turned out that I didn't need to ask him, because the time I was going to ask him on our Dungeons and Dragons night, he told me.

"Listen... Rosie... there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now, but I didn't know how," Vladimir said.

"Wh-What is it?" I asked tenderly. I could feel the lump in my throat by those words.

"I'm actually not supposed to say this. I'm supposed to tell you that I'm moving away somewhere in Canada, but... I can't bring myself to lie to you lIke that. I can't, because... because I love you," Vladimir confessed. That was the first love confession I heard from him and it made my heart pound. I had known I was growing a crush on him and I could feel the tears of joy building up before he took my hands, then the lump grew heavier. "Rosie... a big change is about to happen to me... a huge one."

"W-What do you mean? I don't understand."

Vladimir gazed his eyes away, then looked into mine. He asked, "you notice how my eyes are always black? Like black as coal?"

"Yes. I mean that's natural to have dark eyes. What does that have to do with you?"

"Humans are not supposed to have eyes like mine. At least normal ones. They can look black, but not so much you can't see the pupils of my eyes. These are the color of my youth and by the end of the school year, I'll be going through a permanent change that will change everything I am. I suppose it's a sort of puberty kind of thing. I'm kin da sad about it, but I've been wanting to do this for a while and now I'm finally ready for it."

"Vladimir, I'm confused. You say you're going through a change, but what kind of change and what do you mean _normal_? You look perfectly fine, Vladimir," I exclaimed bluntly before Vladimir smiled, shaking his head sadly.

"I'm a vampire," Vladimir said as my eyes widened and I responded like anyone would. I laughed.

"Bloody hell, don't shit on me like that!" I cried, taking his words as a joke.

"I'm not joking, Rose," Vladimir said bluntly, a tone he never used, which stopped by laughter. He sighed, then walked to his backpack, unzipping it and digging out what looked to be like a half empty blood bag. My stomach began to jump as I saw the straw at the end of the bag and Vladimir, to my shock, began to drink out of it. I covered my mouth, gagging with my hand over my stomach and falling over on my knees. Vladimir quickly caught me, rubbing his hand on my back. "It's alright. It's not human blood. It's just my father's. It's only for young vampires like myself. See, my fangs haven't grown yet and I'm warmblooded."

I was panting, trying not to vomit out my stomach. That was more than I could handle. Vladimir, my best friend, the boy I now realized I had a huge crush on, he was a vampire. A young one, one that couldn't drink human blood yet, but still. I... no, no, this couldn't be. Wait, why is he so calm about this and why...?

 _"Why?"_ I asked in a weak, trembling voice.

"I knew you would freak out like this, if I told you. I was also afraid you would leave me and I didn't want you to get involved with this whole mess. Even so, I'm not supposed to tell anyone for my family's life," Vladimir admitted, sighing with so much guilt on his face. He had been hiding this from me for years, five years. He mentioned his family, but still... I kept silent. "You see, every vampire is born _somewhat_ human. Aside from the eyes and ability to drink their parents' blood, they look and feel human, even eating human food. My kind is rare around these parts, because of the vampire hunters many years ago, some that still exist today in the shadows. So, we stay hidden. That's why I wasn't supposed to tell you."

"Why tell me now?" I asked tremblingly.

"Because I love you and I couldn't leave you with a lie. My father says that it is for your own good, that it would be better that you never knew, but... I couldn't. You deserve to know. I'll be leaving at the end of the school year and you will never see me again... maybe. I might watch you and make sure nobody harms you or anything, but I can't be around you like now anymore."

"Why?"

"I'm a vampire."

"... so... I'd be food to you?"

"More or less. I mean it's not like if I get too close, I could swallow you whole or anything. But... I wouldn't see you the same as I do now. You know that movie _Fox and the Hound_? It would be like that. That kind of thing."

"... I see."

"Rosie..." Vladimir spoke, taking my chin and looking at me with those coal black eyes, no pupils, looking into my eyes. "I'll always be by your side. I'll text you everyday, call you if I can. I won't leave you alone. But, I also want you to keep doing what you're doing. Keep following your dream. We may part, our dreams may never cross, but our friendship will last forever. I won't let this keep us completely apart."

"Vlad," I choked and before I knew it, his lips touched mine and my eyes closed. It was a simple, but sweet kiss. That was our first official kiss.

As bittersweet as that meeting was, I decided to accept it and finally take Vladimir's suggestion from last year: sit back and smell the roses. We did not officially date, but we enjoyed our times together. We hung out, talked, laughed, played Dungeons and Dragons and enjoyed every moment we shared together. My brothers noticed I had been acting weird, but I would often brush it off and they's assume it was because of my _feelings_ for Vlad. They weren't wrong, but of course I denied that fact.

On the last day of middle school, after exams, Vladimir and I walked together hand in hand. That was the first time we held hands. I feared that if I released that hand that I would never get it back. Fear was in my heart for what was to come. What would Vladimir be like after the change? Would I be dinner to him? Would he want to change me into a vampire? Could he change me into a vampire or were they born like this? Would he still love me? So many questioned were weighing over my heart.

We watched a theatrical play together: Swan Lake. It was a tragic story of a prince, who falls in love with Odette, cursed to being a swan during the day. I could not help, but see myself in this play as the story continued to sink deeper and deeper into tragedy. Odette cannot escape her curse as a swan and Prince Siegfried could not save her. I knew I could not save Vladimir.

We walked out of the theatre in silence as I asked with a heavy heart, "is there a way you cannot be a vampire?"

Vladimir stared at me in silence with such sadness on his face. He replied, "I could... but..."

"But what!?" I almost shouted, as if accusing him of something.

"It's not as bad as it seems. The movies like to make vampires look savage," Vladimir said, chuckling bitterly.

"Oh, so how is drinking human blood not savage, hm?"

"Rose..." Vladimir said, sighing, then placing his hand on his forehead. "It's really not what you think. Like we don't attack humans at a nearby alleyway and drink their blood against their will."

"Smashing, so you what? _Ask_ to drain them dead?"

"No! Rosie, I know this is a lot for you, but you're seriously going way too deep into this!" Vladimir said as I crossed my arms and angrily glared at the ground. I wanted to leave, go hide under a rock and cry. He held me close and I could smell his sent, losing myself into his arms with bittersweet tears. "Shhhh, it's going to be fine. It's not as bad as it seems. Look, I'll show you, once I complete my transformation, you will be the first to see it."

"What!?" I said, looking up at him, who grinned.

"I'll let you be the first to see me. I mean, it will be in the shadows, but you'll get to see me."

"But... wouldn't you burn in the sunlight or something?"

"HA! Not really. Though, it does sting when I first transform, because I'll be coldblooded, but na. In fact, we depend on sunlight for our survival."

"Oh... um... I guess you're not effected by crosses or religious objects?"

"Nope."

"What about blood. Does it have to be human or can it be animal?"

"Human."

 _"Smashing."_

"I told you it's not as bad as it seems. We do use donated blood."

"Fine, but do you get your blood from biting?"

"Well yeah, but it isn't just the neck and we don't drink anymore than a pint. That's enough to fill us up. So, we can get our fill, then let the human go free."

"... I suppose that's alright, but wouldn't a human eventually get drained after a while?"

"Only if you use the same human, which we hadn't recommended, since slavery was banned years ago," Vladimir grinned, using tongue and cheek.

"Lovely."

Vladimir laughed a bit sarcastically as I sighed sadly. Then, I asked, "is there a way we can still be together, vampire or not?"

There was a long silence between us before Vladimir finally admitted, "I don't know." He cupped his hands around my face, looked into my eyes as I looked into his. His lips brushed against mine for a while, before kissing them. It was a very slow and emotional kiss, deeper than the first one. I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, then slowly brushing my tongue across his bottom lip. Our tongues brushed. That would be our first french kiss. I wanted this to be the last thing we had. I wanted to make the most of what we had before Vladimir went passed the point of no return. I loved him. I loved him so much it hurt, but I would never know just how much the pain would hurt. Even the love I felt that moment would not compare to the love I felt when I would look into those eyes just three months later.

Young vampires transforming into their adult stage often lasts for three months. This is for vampires of pure blood. What Vladimir did not want to tell me was that he _chose_ to become a vampire, that he wanted this more than anything. The process starts when the young vampire is bitten by his or her respected parent or guardian. All vampires transform under a single bite, but while normal human transformations include drinking the blood of their masters or sires, blood born vampires only need the bite, the venom meant to relax the victim. The transformation also lasts for three months and is painless. For human transformations, it lasts about a week or month at most and the transformation is the most painful one.

I used those three months to focus on my summer job and preparing for high school. I decided to enter into an academy in another state. Alfred, of course, wanted to go there too to be my hero and all that jazz. He also knew how hard I took it with Vladimir's departure. He bought the lie that Vladimir had to move to Canada. I knew the truth. I wanted to get as far from those painful, bittersweet memories I had with Vladimir as soon as possible. Everything reminded me too much of him. We went everywhere together. Life just simply wasn't fair. It didn't help that I hadn't heard from him, though he had my number.

It was only two and a half months later, since I last saw Vladimir, that I was on the plane to the academy called Global Academy. I had settled down, got a job as a waitress at a diner, bought my supplies and gained my scholarship. I was ready to start my new high school years at this boarding school. I even was settled in inside my new dorm with my two roommates: Sakura, who reminded me a lot of Kiku from middle School, and Francine, who reminded me of the female version of the frog from the same school that broke my heart. Luckily, Francine only had her eyes on men and I wasn't interested in women either.

I was working at the diner, wiping tables and such. It was already dark, being it was a bit after 8:00 PM. The diner closed at 10:00 PM. Francine, who was also my coeworker and suggested me to work at this place, came to me.

"Rosie darling, there is a customer waiting to take his order and he is a dashing one too. I noticed he's been keeping his eyes on you," Francine stated, wiggling her eyebrows with that French accent as I glared with my own.

"You really must stop trying to hook me up. I keep telling you that I'm not interested in relationships," I stated.

"Don't be like that. You did say that you wanted to move on from your previous lover, no? Look around and smell the roses. There are other fish in the sea and this one is waiting for you on table 5."

"Probably a pervert. Fine," I said, sighing as I got the pad and pen, then walked out of the kitchen.

"Make sure you give him your number!"

I rolled my eyes as I made my way to table 5. I noticed a familiar young gentleman in a red trenchcoat. His strawberry blond hair and the small hat worn to the side of his head caught my eye. He looked a lot like... no, it can't be. Vladimir was gone and I had moved two states from home. There's no way he would've traveled this far, especially since the transformation did take months as far as I knew at the time. Of course, I knew little about how vampires work and I'm still learning.

Swallowing my throat, I walked to the table, then met his face. I froze on the spot. Oh bloody hell, it is Vladimir in the flesh! My lips trembled and I didn't know how to respond. I scanned his features. His skin did seem paler than before, so I assumed the transformation already happened. He did say that he couldn't be around during the day afterwards, so it made sense he would only come at dark. Wait, but wouldn't he no longer eat human food anymore? _Could_ he eat human food?

Vladimir slowly lifted his face up, showing his now bloody, crimson eyes that made me choke in the worst way possible. _Oh god. Oh god damnit._ Then, he grinned, his fangs as clear as day as I heard the sound of my pen drop. I looked down, then as I picked up my pen, I noticed stares from all over the diner. I had been staring at Vladimir and probably looked like a complete idiot. They probably think my reaction was from Vladimir's handsome features, which were now glowing brighter than a disco ball, but that wasn't what I was focusing on or thinking. I wish that was the case. Oh, I wish that was.

"Rose," Vladimir said as I looked up, quickly on my toes with the pen in my hand.

"Y-Yes. May I take your order?"

"The wine. There's this sparkling wine I'd like to try out called the Rose," Vladimir replied, giving me the dirtiest smirk as if he knew and was trying to embarrass me.

"R-Right. Is there anything else?" I asked, trembling. I wanted to keep my composer without yelling at him or breaking into tears.

"Would your boss be fine, if you sat and dined with me for a couple of minutes? It seems slow tonight."

"I-It's fine. I'll bring the wine," I said with a heavy heart. It was a good thing it was slow tonight.

I got the Rose sparkling wine and two wine glasses. Francine giggled her flirtatious giggle, not reading what emotions I was feeling right now. At this point, I didn't care. I didn't know what to feel. There were so many questions and emotions weighing heavy on my heart. I had thought Vladimir was gone from my life for good. Then, he just waltzes right into my workplace out of the blue like it's nobody's business.

I walked to the table, and sat down across from him after pouring our glasses. Vladimir sipped the wine, then gazed at me with soft red eyes, showling the smile I knew from before. I bit my bottom lip, not being sure how I was supposed to feel or what to say. Everything just came crashing down at this very moment.

"You should warn me the next time you take off like that. I was worried," Vladimir stated plainly as I stared at my drink.

 _"My apologies,"_ I whispered.

"Why did you leave? Was it because of me?"

I nodded, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to pour out.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No, I just... I couldn't stand the idea of living my life without you and all our memories. It was too much."

"I told you that I would always be watching and that I would see you again."

"I know, but... I just couldn't," I said, then took a gulp of the wine. His eyebrows shot up. "Why did you come here?"

"Don't you remember? I promised you that you would be the first to see me after the transformation."

"You said _in the shadows_."

"I guess I got a bit dramatic there, didn't I? Turns out I don't have to keep myself completely hidden as long as I play it cool."

"That's good," I said, some of the weight lifted, but not completely.

"Rosie," Vladimir said as I looked up, my fingers lightly around the base of my wine glass. "You once asked me why I couldn't just not become a vampire and I wasn't completely honest." He gently took my hands and despite the temperature drop of his once warm hands, they still felt soft and cooling. I couldn't snatch my hands from his. "The truth is, I _wanted_ to be a vampire." My face lifted up, showing confusion. "As I said, vampires are not like those from the movies or books. There is the diet part, but they also hold magical abilities. Remember when I said I wanted to be a magician? You assumed I meant card tricks and such, but I meant something... a little more. I want to explore my abilities to fly, change form and see the future."

"You can see the future?" I asked. Vladimir nodded and I began furrowing my eyebrows a little bit. So, there was something more to vampirism than just drinking blood.

"I've had this ability for a long time and it is why I told you my family secret when I did. I knew I would lose you, if I didn't say."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I saw your corpse in my hands with my bite mark, because we crossed paths during my early stages of transformation. It usually lasts for about three months. Anyways, I go through mood swings and I had seen your corpse in my arms. I did not drain you gone, but you wouldn't stop bleeding. It was a nightmare. The only thing I could do was tell you what was going on with me and that we had to be apart for a while. I knew you would listen, because you've always trusted me. I was scared. I was scared of losing you and I can't bare to think of what would happen if that vision came true."

"You were trying to protect me," I said, as if realization was hitting me square in the face.

"If I hurt you in any way, I'm sorry. I want to be a vampire, but I also want you. There is no one else I could ever love more than you. You've always been an important part of my life and my greatest inspiration. You always set plans for your future and make me optimistic about mine. Your smile always lifts me up and when you are sad, I want to protect you from those that make you feel that way. When you ran from class that day, when Francis gave your chocolates to his girlfriends, I called him out and told him that you deserved better than a mutt like him."

"You said that?" I asked, utterly shocked.

"So silent you could hear a pin drop," Vladimir grinned as I shook my head, grinning to myself. Of course he would say that.

"So, that's why he apologized so dramatically."

"I always watched you from the time you went up on stage to perform, smiling and performing in front of the school, the park and fairs. You were like a shining star and it made me want to keep working on becoming the most powerful vampire the world has ever seen, no longer living a life of hiding from the world. You've always inspired me, especially when you changed your hairstyle from those french braids to ponytails, because it was what you wanted. I wanted to dress myself the way I wanted, so I grew out my hair a little and bought this cap. I remember when you said it was cute. I liked that.

"Oh Vlad..." I said, my heartstrings being pulled. I was trying so hard not to cry. It was too much.

"So, I want us to continue doing what we want. This isn't _Fox and the Hound_ or _Swan Lake_. We don't have to be cursed to be apart just because of society. I love you, Rose. I'm not saying there won't be downsides to dating a vampire. I may bite and draw blood from you, but I won't hurt or kill you. Because I'm a vampire, I am also in danger just as much as I am the danger. Vampire hunters exist and will stop at nothing to have my head over their fireplace. But, if I had to spend my entire high school and college life with anyone, if I wanted to grow up and marry, if I wanted to plan a future with little tots with anyone, I'd rather it be with you. I know that you will not stay with me, if I truly am too dangerous to be around. I know that if I am a vampire, you will love me for it. I know that if I ever bite you or draw blood for whatever reason, you will stop me and yell at me for not feeding like I should. I know that if others tell you otherwise, you will not let them tell you how to live your life. We live it how we want and if ever you want to be a vampire, just let me know," Vladimir replied and the tears came pouring down as I nodded.

"I love you, Vlad. I don't know how long, but I think I have for quite a long time. I don't know if it was when you held me that day in the bathroom when I was crying, even though it was the girl's restroom you dummy, or when you confessed and kissed me. Somehow, I think it happened when I least expected it. I don't ever want you to leave me again. If you must, you can be whatever you want, even a vampire. We can plan a future together, just the two of us," I said, as Vladimir kissed my hands, then gently took my chin and kissed my lips.

I was a bit surprised when I felt those fangs, but it was fine. I felt so hypnotized by those eyes, those lips, that face, just... everything. My first high school year and I had found my high school sweetheart.

Vladimir and I have been stuck together since. He registered for this academy, what a shock, and has been my constant stalker day in and day out. He's starting to become more honest with me as the years pass. I've become a bigger part of his life.

No matter the leaps and bounds, Vladimir and I will always be true and love each other. Just like Vladimir protects me, I protect him. We protect each other. Sure, I may not see the future, but I can make a good argument and being Student Council President gives me some sort of power to make sure all rules are followed. Alfred has since learned about Vladimir and thinks the vampire thing is cool.

If I had any suggestion for those looking for romance, my best advice is to find someone that will always protect you and be your friend. Your date should always be your best friend. Had I known this, I would have given those chocolates to Vladimir and not Francis.

 **I'm thinking of turning this into a series of one shots about Vladimir and Rosie from other's POV. At some point, I would like to go deeper into Vladimir, his life, the friends he makes and his family. There's a lot to go into. If this one shot succeeds, I might actually do that. What do you guys think? Think I should make a series of one shots about these two? Let me know in your comments :)**


	2. Lukas Bondevik

**I told ya that I may continue. Now, here's an interesting followup to the last one shot, though with a very interesting twist where it will be less predictable about what happens next. It's going to be a long one, so buckle up. I make a lot of references to Fox and the Hound, because this is very similar to that Disney movie. What's interesting is that you can compare this to any situation under the sun where you ask yourself where the line should be drawn in the sand of what is right or wrong. Read and enjoy.**

 **Summery: I have been a vampire all my life. I was trained and raised by the best, since the clan of them destroyed my village. But then, I meet this one vampire and he's different. Perhaps destiny hates me or maybe this is the start. Either way, I don't regret any decision I make. I love my family and that is why I am not afraid to stand in front of this vampire and protect him. I don't want my family to throw away simple human morals for hate.**

Love stories. I've never been into that kind of stuff. It's always been Rosie's shtick to be into Creative Writing and Literature. Me? I'm... a bit different. You see, I hunt vampires, have my whole life since a clan of them turned my village into ashes. The only family I had were the remaining surviving children and Tim Van Dike, a part of a Dutch family that hunted vampires for a living. He found us and took us in. Tim has taught me everything I know about vampires and hunting them.

As far as how to hunt vampires or even what they are, I would tell you. I've both studied and hunted them. It's easy to tell if they are vampires or not from typical humans. It's not just the red eyes, but what kind of red eyes they are from a typical albino like Gilbert. It's also the skin tone against the sun, their diet and their senses. Vampires have incredibly advanced senses from sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. A vampire would know where you are a mile away just by smelling you, hearing your steps. There were many signs that would point to a vampire without argument. I could tell the difference between a vampire and human without a beat.

I would call myself an expert, but Tim knows more than I ever could. I would go hunting with him to protect our family and other villages from meeting the same fate as mine. He was my inspiration in how he protected his family with such strength and courage I only wish I could have. I always try to be as strong and courageous as him, but the importance of my family always went first. I wanted them to be safe, so that we would never have to suffer like we did as children, especially my little brother, the only blood family I've got.

When Tim found us, we were only small children struggling to survive in what was left of our small village. My little brother was only a toddler at the time. He took us to his house and that was when I first met Emma, Tim's little sister and my longtime girlfriend. We started out as best friends, then we eventually fell in love. Even now, we still talk to each other through video chat. I miss her a lot. She gave me courage when I had non. I would give my life for her just as she has done for me so many times.

I love my family, every single one of them. My little brother is the most precious to me. He's in high school currently and often isolates himself from everyone. I blame myself mostly, because I tend to do the same thing, especially now. The oldest one is Magnus Kohler. He is the wildest among us. He brags himself to be the leader, protector and even the greatest vampire hunter, as incredibly loud as he is. Still, he has a good heart I suppose. According to him, I'm his closest friend and I suppose there is truth to it. Even as children, we always took care of each other and told each other everything... at least we did until recently. There is Berwald Oxenstierna, who is very close with Tino Väinämöinen. Both of them grew up as children and have been incredibly close. Berwald is a carpenter, who is very serious about his work, but is the kindest and softest among us despite how scary his front is. I think it's from the trauma of seeing his family become lunch for the clan of vampires that destroyed our village. Tino faced the same thing, but it effected him differently. I've heard he used to be very tough and kind of a bully. After what happened to our village, he began showing a sweet and kind face. He wants everyone to not suffer, thus his smile and kind face, but don't let that fool you. Anyone who messes with this family, especially Berwald, will see Tino's true colors and it often will be the last thing you will see. He's considered the most dangerous vampire hunter among us and the only one capable of killing a human being if it meant protecting this family. That's how he's always been.

Me? I once thought I knew who I was. I'm a vampire hunter that will kill any vampire that came my way. I always knew that. I was a vampire hunter, a sorta family man, neutral that was to himself and a protective big brother. Though, there was a part of me even I didn't know. I thought that I was a vampire hunter that would kill any vampire without hesitation. It was in my blood. I thought that, until I met the one vampire I hesitated to kill and worse, the idea of losing him would tear the very core of my soul I never knew existed. Not because this vampire was some lover, I had Emma. Not because this vampire was from my village or even considered family. I only met him a month or so ago. It was because... this vampire... he was just like me. He had a family he protected, a little brother that was precious to him, a lover he fell and protected, then there was me, someone that was to be his enemy. Both of us were supposed to be enemies and yet we are not. We are best friends, partners and reflections of each other. His name is Vadimir Lupei and I am his well known best, closest friend and partner, Lukas Bondevik. This is our story. Not a love story, but perhaps close to it.

It all started on our first meeting. It wasn't anything special. I was in the bookstore searching for the textbooks I needed for my classes. Believe me, searching for the books for all five or six different classes was like finding a needle in a haystack, if the haystack was a maze and mall-sized. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement, especially when some lazy student decides not to return the book or places them in random shelves. College is a pain. Anyways, I was groaning to vent out my frustration.

"Wow, I didn't know the _Study of Dungeons and Dragons_ would be in the Science Section," I heard a voice on the other side of the bookshelf I was searching in. I practically rolled my eyes. Idiots.

"You're bluffing!" I heard a female with him. It was Rosie, if you wanted to know. Those two do everything together, it's not even funny. I heard her snatch the book from his hands. "Give me that!" She looks through it. "Huh, what's it doing in the Science Section?"

"You tell me! There's even a book on the Study of Banking!"

"Vladimir, that's supposed to be in the Economics Section."

"I found it here!"

"People place books in random sections instead of where they find them. It's annoying," I said to the duo, searching for the World History textbook.

"Yeah, I noticed. Like I saw this textbook on _Playwright_ in the English Section. I asked Rosie if it should've been in Writing," Vladimir said as I smiled quaintly. I never normally talked to anyone, but... I don't know, it was nice.

"Yes, it should have been in Writing," I replied. I finally found my textbook. "I wish you luck in finding what you need."

"Same. My name's Vladimir by the way, but you can call me Vlad," Vladimir replied as I looked up and through the cracks of the books to see what bit of his face I could see.

"Lukas. It was... nice to introduce ourselves," I replied as Vladimir laughed, then walked to my side of the isle and that was when I noticed the signs of a vampire: eyes pure red as blood and not just orange-red like with albinos, pale crystal skin that made it clear that no warm blood flowed, the coat from being cold-blooded and when he opened his mouth, I could spot the canine upper teeth. I was not prepared, so I could not take the usual precautions I usually did when countering a vampire passing by.

"Same. It's been very boring lately. I need laughter in my life," Vladimire replied.

"Boring? I thought you said that anywhere is fun as long as it's with me," Rosie replied, appearing behind Vladimir, with a teasing smirk as he stuck his tongue out. "In all honesty, you need to prepare yourself. You haven't even helped Victor with school supplies. Isn't he entering the fifth grade?" She cocked her eyebrow.

"I know. I know. Look, it won't be that hard or as expensive. He's still in elementary school, right? He just needs pencils, notebooks, papers, things to color with, scissors, glue and other kiddy stuff, including peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunches," Vladimir replied cockily.

"Vladimir!"

"I know, get the strawberry jelly, crackers, and jello."

"VLADIMIR!"

"Yeah?" Vladimir asked, now looking serious as Rosie kissed his cheek.

"Try not to overblow yourself, alright. You worry me sometimes."

"H-Hey look, I'm fine! I can totally handle caring for my little bro, while I go to college!"

"I hope you're right," Rosie sighed worriedly. Since she was a human, I couldn't just attack Vladimir right then and there, that was common sense. Though, it did surprise me that this vampire had a little brother that seemed to be human. Though, that could have just been a cover up, but then why would his diet be so specific? Even the most disguised vampires never mentioned what kind of jelly to get or specific food for a school lunch. They weren't that clever.

"You have a little brother?" I blurted out. Vladimir turned, then grinned braggingly.

"Da. He's so adorable too, look!" Vladimir grinned, getting out his phone, then showing me all the pictures of a small boy with dark brown hair and what looked to be black-brown eyes. So, he was human. Even his skin wasn't pale and showed dark tones. I felt almost sick.

"I... see," I replied blandly. I looked directly at him, who showed two glittering eyes full of pride and joy, the same ones I've seen in my own eyes when I talked about my little brother Emil. I couldn't help, but smile. "You must be proud of yourself." I showed a small frown. "How do you plan to care for him by yourself, while you're in college."

"I am and who said I was alone? I have some help!" Vladimir claimed.

"You mean slave? Vlad, if you told me you were going to take forever looking for a stupid Biology book, I would have played Scooby Doo on the iPad," a male complained around the corner, holding the hand of the same kid in the picture. This male had black hair and the same black-brown eyes, but it was now that I could see that their eyes were more black than brown. Those two must be related, making this particular male the vampire's other human brother too.

"You're not being fair, Alek. It's only been 10 minutes!"

"20," the male replied with a slight smirk and folded arms.

"Fine, 20, only ten minutes more," Vladimir replied with a pout and folded arms.

"Please, big brother. You promised Mama you wouldn't fight," little Victor said sadly as Vladimir smiled, picked the little boy up, then held him close with happiness and joy on his face. I felt my stomach turn even more. It was as if everything that could be proven wrong about everything I knew about vampires was being thrown, practically smashing me in the face like a cannonball.

"You're such a softy when it comes to him," Alek teased.

"Oh, and you're not?" Vladimir defended.

"Never said I wasn't or it was a bad thing," Alek replied as Vladimir stuck his tongue at him. "Switch? I have to go to school too."

"Fine. God, you're so annoying."

"Thank you," Alek replied, making his way to find his books.

Vladimir sighed as I asked, "is he... your brother? Family?" I didn't realized how terrified I sounded.

"He's my cousin actually. Annoying, but he's family. Not very big, but we have each other and that's what matters," Vladimir replied happily. He placed Victor down, then gave him an iPad. "Want to watch Scooby Doo?"

"Mhm," Victor replied, nodding his head as he took the iPad, then watched his show. Vladimir chuckled, patting the boy's head. I felt defeated.

"I suppose I will be buying these books and be on my way... good day," I said weakly, smiling and waving goodbye before I left, rushing to buy the books and return home. I felt ashamed, not just because I missed the one chance I had to stalk and kill the vampire, but because I allowed my weakness to prevent me from doing so. The idea of that little boy losing his big brother he loved so dearly and loved him more than life was more than I could bare. I couldn't do it.

It only got worse from there, because that would not be the last opportunity I had to kill that vampire.

Classes started and not only did I realize, much to my shock, that this same vampire and I went to the same Academy, but shared three classes together: Biology, Mythology and Literature. Vladimir even smiled with glitter in his eyes as he waved to me, so that I may sit by him. For Biology and Literature, it was easy to ignore him, since he was far up. Mythology though, he was literally at the front of the class. Not only could I see him, I could hear him calling my name. I couldn't ignore him.

"Sorry, I tried calling to you earlier, but we share Biology and Literature class together!" Vladimir spoke gleefully. I responded normally.

"That's... interesting," I replied blandly.

"Want to sit? We can help each other. Like a team up," Vladimir asked, more like pleaded. I couldn't just say no and expose myself as the vampire hunter I was.

"Sure," I replied with the same bland tone as I sat next to the vampire. I noticed the thermos in his hand, blood no doubt.

It seemed the universe was only trying to torture me. I thought perhaps dealing with this annoying vampire would only be for this class and perhaps he would soon get tired of me. I sat through the class. Mythology was actually my favorite subject and I learned that Vladimir loved it just as much as me. Before I knew it, we began talking about the mythologies from our countries. He spoke of Roman Mythology, being Romania was once a territory of Rome, and I spoke of the Scandinavian Mythologies that you would never hear from Marvel. The worst part was that I was overjoyed in learning more about what Vladimir knew, even despite how more obvious those fangs were and that the thermos had blood he was drinking. It never phased or bothered me. It was natural. I couldn't believe it.

Suddenly, class was over and I found myself grinning and waving goodbye to Vladimir before I ran to my classroom. It got worse as soon as break started. I made my way out of the University to get lunch somewhere affordable. Before I knew it, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I quickly turned. It was Vladimir with his quirky smile.

"Hey ya! You wanna eat lunch with us? I usually sit with Rosie, but she's inviting her roommate to sit down and I thought maybe I could invite a guy to equal out the sexes," Vladimir offered.

"How does that make any sense?" I asked with glaring eyes. As Vladimir shrugged. I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Sure, I suppose." I couldn't believe what I was doing. Not only did I accept the offer, but I was starting to find him... tolerable. A vampire, tolerable? I couldn't even believe that would even enter my mind, but here I was, being dragged into the cafeteria and joining with the other two girls. Vladimir certainly stuck out like a sore thumb with being the only vampire in school. At least he was _the only one_. I couldn't deal with growing soft for two vampires. It was bad enough it was just one.

We all talked and laughed naturally. The universe really did hate me. If Magnus saw me like this... if the others... if Tim saw me like this, it would be utter betrayal to my family, to everything. I couldn't even bare telling Emma about this and I always told her everything. I couldn't continue on like this. I had to get away from this, from this friendship, from this laughter. I couldn't...

"I should get going," I finally said, after finishing my food. I had to run. I had to escape from this torture of myself.

"Hey Lukas!" Vladimir called out to me. I froze, then turned my head. He frowned slightly, then smiled as he approached me, then straightened the tail of my shirt that I had not realized was folded over my dagger, my slaying dagger. I almost felt my blood drain. Any vampire would know a vampire hunting dagger from a regular dagger... wouldn't they? "There." He whispered in my ear. _"Didn't want you getting expelled."_

Did he know? My color had probably completely drained by now. I was scared. What was Vladimir thinking now? Did he think indifferent of me or...? He saw and frowned a little before smiling at me once more.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain yourself. I know you're not trying to hurt anyone," Vladimir assured me as I nodded slowly.

"You shouldn't be around me, Vlad," I finally said in a sad, quiet, but truthful tone. "We shouldn't be around each other."

"Why not?" Vladimir replied with a frown.

"I think you know why. I'm dangerous," I said sadly. Then I looked at his thermos, glaring at it. "What makes you different?" I walked away from there, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

I couldn't answer my own question. What made Vladimir Lupei different from any other dangerous vampire out there? He drank human blood, perhaps even bit them, drained blood from any human. What made him different? Just because he had a family that happened to be human, just because he had friends and a girlfriend that happened to be human, just because he lived in society like humans did, just because he was kind and interesting, that didn't mean he was less of the vampires that destroyed my village. I couldn't forgive anyone that did that. But then again, when have humans taken out the lives of their own kind, in millions in fact? Weren't we worse than the vampires, who at least would spare their own kind and only drink human blood to feed? Aren't we any different toward animals we eat?

In one single day of my first day at the academy, I had already grown closer to Vladimir than I wanted. I began tolerating him, liking him even. I enjoyed our conversations. We talked, laughed, joked and even let our guards down. I felt so ashamed. Could I even call myself a vampire hunter?

I left into a quiet alleyway after my final class ended. I couldn't go home like this, not right away. I unwielded my hunting knife specifically made for slaying vampires. A vampire was literally in front of me and I could not even use this on him. Why couldn't I? Why? Without knowing, perhaps from thinking too much, fingers that weren't mine wrapped around the knife I was holding. I looked up and saw Vladimir's face. If it wasn't clear this knife was meant to kill vampires, it was clear now. The handle read 'Vampire Kill,' carved by me. Vampire hunting daggers differed by their carving and how the sharp blade of the dagger looked almost crystal and sparkled like glitter.

We kept staring at each other with uncertainty. I glared at him, "why?"

"If you intended on hunting me, you would have done it already," Vladimir said clearly. "You also wouldn't have ran off like that." I wielded away the knife. It became very clear as day.

"If you intended on drinking from me, you would have done it already and led me to places like these to do so," I muttered, perhaps talking more to myself than Vladimir, who smiled. "What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know. Perhaps, this is the exception of the lion befriending the lamb."

"Yes," I said in realization. Lions always hunted, killed and ate the lamb, but there were always those lions that not only befriended the lamb, but protected that lamb. It came to me that perhaps I was becoming that lion, the lion that befriended the lamb, and protected it. He would do the same to me. I had no reason to bring the dagger along, if I wasn't going to use it to slay vampires, but that wasn't why I brought it. I only now began realizing this. I brought it with me to protect Vladimir... from myself and from Magnus, who sometimes showed up randomly. I wanted to protect Vladimir, because he was my friend. I can hunt vampires and be friends with one. Vladimir could do the same.

We both smiled, coming to this acceptance.

We began learning more about each other than ever before through the next several days. We had come to accept our roles as vampire and vampire hunter. I learned that Vladimir and Rosie had known each other since children and Rosie had known Vladimir before he became a vampire. I also learned that Vladimir's family are pure blood vampires that gave birth to vampire children. This one, I was surprised about the most.

"So, Victor and Alek will become vampires too?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Da. That's why they got the black eyes. Alek though, he is going through the process of being a human hybrid," Vladimir replied.

"What do you mean?"

"A vampire can choose to be a human hybrid, meaning that instead of going through the transformation during puberty, they stay in their pre-vampiric state, which is human with vampiric qualities the fangs, blood drinking and strength. Though, after a certain amount of years, they can't even drink blood either and their pre-fangs just disappear. Alek's teeth have not disappeared yet and he sometimes drinks blood from time to time. He hasn't made it clear if being a human hybrid is what he wants or not. Just that he would rather not no through the process _now_. I find it lame, if you ask me," Vladimir replied.

"What about you? Why would you want to be a vampire?" I asked, glaring slightly.

"The powers. Strength, ability to see the future, that kind of thing."

"Wait, you can see the future?" I asked, actually interested this time.

"Da. I can also give others fortunes. If you want, I can give you your fortune," Vladimir offered. I smirked a bit.

"Sure. Hit me," I dared Vladimir, who chuckled.

Before this moment, I had expected this friendship to be a sweet one that would go no farther, but the universe was not in favor of making life easier. Vladimir took my hand, then stroke the lines of my wrist before I began seeing my hand on the same dagger against the blade of what looked to be Mangus' ax, the other hand on the handle. I turned my head, then saw Vladimir with the blade of Tim's sword through his chest where his heart was, blood choked from his lips as cold, hard eyes were shown from Tim's eyes. He looked at me and before I knew it, I ran after Tim with red in my eyes. The dagger was in my hand as I found myself aiming the blade for Tim's head.

I gasped, snatching my hand from Vladimir's as I backed against the wall, panting. I never felt so determined, so willing to protect a vampire I truly cared about from the bottom of my heart.

That was when the conflict started. My family are very good people. I never had conflict with what I wanted and whom I defended. Family always came first. No questions asked. I suppose to explain my conflict, I should go to before the conflict started, specifically after my first meeting with Vladimir.

* * *

"Hey Lukas! Man, it was so boring while you were buying stupid textbooks!" Mangus complained as I sighed. I had just returned home, after buying the textbooks. We were renting a three room townhouse.

"Perhaps, because you are like a child with a short memory span," I brushed in reply.

"Awww Lukie, but I've been waiting for you to start our movie night!"

"You can wait 15 minutes with all the 12 hours of the whole day," I replied with a short smile.

"But, I've been preparing for this for like ever!"

"You mean since yesterday when you asked me if we could have a movie night, once I got back?"

"That's 24 hours of preparing, Lukie. You don't understand it!"

"Oh, I think I do. I prepared to be part of Global Academy for six months of examinations, registrations and FASFA," I replied with a slight smirk.

"You're not fair, Lukas!"

"Just doing my job," I replied, placing my books on my table desk. I smiled, then sighed out the window. At the time, I had decided that I could just simply forget about my encounter with the vampire, because I had my family. Nothing could be more important than them. Nothing. I turned to Magnus. "Want me to get the DVD player?"

"You're going to have the movie night with us!?" Magnus asked excitedly.

"Never said I wasn't," I replied with a cunning smile.

"I knew I could count on you!"

I snorted, then got the DVD player out before hearing the door open. Berwald and Tino came through, Emil following behind with earbuds in his ears. Tino smiled, asking, "have we missed movie night? Sorry we're late."

"No worries. I knew you guys would come!" Magnus grinned as I approached Emil.

"How was your day?" I asked.

Emil looked up, shrugging as I smiled, then hugged him. I could hear a sigh from him, patting my back before we parted. He said, "I'll join with you for movie night."

"Glad," I replied.

Emil has always been distant. For the longest time, I couldn't understand it and brushed it off as puberty or something. Though, the bigger the conflict with the vampire became, the more I began understanding Emil. He was just as scared as I am right now. He would also be the first one to notice my fears.

* * *

I returned from the one day of my nightmare come true at the Academy. I smiled, then waved to everyone before Magnus gave me a big hug.

"Oh my god, I've missed you!" Magnus cried.

"Gone for five hours and you already miss me. I feel so blessed," I said sarcastically, not even bothering to hug him back.

"Five hours is five hours too long!"

I just rolled my eyes, then muttered, "don't be such a baby."

"You and Magnus have always been close, you know. Like Berwald and I have always have been," Tino said sing-songly as Berwald huffed, reading a book.

Emil looked over at me with one earbud off, his eyebrows raised. Usually, when he does this, it's his way of asking, _'are you okay? I know something's bugging you.'_ I smiled at him, then walked over to him, just patting his head. Emil offhandedly brushed my hand from his head.

"God, I'm not ten anymore," Emil muttered, then took one last look at me from the corner of his eyes. That was Emil saying, _'I know something's bugging you and if you don't tell me, I will find out.'_ I smiled, then kissed his head before I headed to the kitchen and began making a grilled ham and cheese. It was easy to make.

"So, how was your long, boring day at the Academy?" Magnus asked.

"Long and boring," I replied.

"Co'mon! There has to be details. Pretty girls?"

"Next."

"Lukie, just tell me! I know something interesting must've happened!" Magnus cried. I smiled, then chuckled. _Yeah, I befriended a vampire that I_ now _swore I would protect with my life._ I couldn't say that.

"Hm... I learned that Venus was married to Mars, god of war," I said, showing a small smile.

"Ugh, boring history. Really?"

"It's Roman Mythology and learning a bit of it would be good for you," I teased as Magnus stuck his tongue at me.

"But seriously, were there any pretty girls?"

"I met one girl, but she already has a boyfriend," I said as Magnus rolled his eyes.

"I mean _single_ girls. You're no fun. How did Emma end up with you?"

"Because I focus my studies and not on other women like _some people_ I know," I said as I heard chuckles in the background, mostly from Tino and a bit from Berwald.

"He's got you there, Mag," Emil said blandly.

"You guys are no fun," Magnus pouted. I really saw Emil giving me a look I was all too familiar with. It was one where he was worried, knowing that how I was acting wasn't like me. Emil knew me, REALLY knew me. He knew I wasn't acting like myself, that something was bothering me. No one else would know, because as long as I teased and acted boring, I was myself. Emil knew that I normally wouldn't try so hard to be teasing and boring. It just came naturally.

This went on the few days I was friends with Vladimir. It came to a point where I would stare at my dagger before going to bed, knowing that this very dagger I always used to hunt vampires would now be used to protect one. I didn't know what I wanted. I was so conflicted that I didn't hear Emil entering inside our room. This time, his earbuds weren't in his ears. He closed the door behind him, then took a deep breath.

"Lukas," I heard Emil. He never called me by that name, unless it was bad.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you. Is something wrong?" I asked, smiling as I brushed my hand through his hair.

Emil sighed, not even bothering to push my hand away like he usually does. Something was bothering him. I stopped, then took my hand from it, my eyes full of worry.

"You're scaring me," Emil finally said.

"Hm? I'm fine. I've never been more happy," I said, lying of course.

"You're lying. If you were okay, you would smile and say I was being silly. You've been like this since going to that Academy. It's only been getting worse. Why are you acting like this?" Emil asked. I could see he was scared. I felt awful. I knew it was because of that stupid vampire.

I didn't know how Emil would respond or if he would reject me as family. He was only a baby when our village was destroyed, so his hatred for vampires would only be by word of mouth and being raised under vampire hunters. I considered that. I also considered that, despite how he acted, he always trusted and looked up to me. There was no one I was more closer to than Emil. Could I trust him with my own conflict? Maybe not all of it, but...

I took Emil and we sat down beside each other on the bed. He looked at me with those eyes. I sighed, looking at the door. Berwald and Tino were asleep. Magnus was watching TV. I looked at Emil.

"Do you remember when I used to put on _Fox and the Hound_ for you?" I asked.

Emil sighed, "that baby movie?"

"You enjoyed it," I said as Emil rolled his eyes.

"I did like it."

"As a puppy, Copper didn't understand that befriending a fox went against his instinct as a hunting dog. He had to go out and be taught to hunt in order to be the hunting dog he was. When he returned, he was back to being the hunting dog that he was and yet, he still protected Todd. Why?" I asked.

Emil shrugged, "They were like you and Magnus. You both grew up as children and played together. When you know someone like that, prey and predatory instincts don't really matter."

"But, what if they first met as adults? What if everything that happened in their childhood happened in one day or a few days, then suddenly Copper went against his predatory instincts to protect this one fox that should not matter or be any different than every fox he's hunted."

"Maybe Todd wasn't like other foxes? I mean he was more of a pet if anything. He was raised under an old lady that felt sorry for him, and then she dropped him off in the forest, so that farmer wouldn't shoot Todd down like an animal. Copper had been more willing to fight Todd, when he thought Todd injured Chief, then stopped once he saw that Todd was willing to give his life to protect his master, even getting injured in the process.

"I suppose... it was not going against the predictor instincts as much as it was him following his moral instincts. Animals don't have that in real life. They do what their instincts tell them without thought of what the prey thinks, but us... we humans have those moral instincts and they can be stronger than any predatory instincts indoctrinated inside us. It's what makes us human."

 _"Instincts of morality,"_ I whispered.

"For instance, we hunt vampires. What if that one vampire didn't hunt any humans? Maybe he got the blood from blood bags he bought from some hospital or something. Maybe he protects and saves human lives for a living. Would you consider him someone worth hunting?" Emil asked.

I couldn't answer that. I knew the answer already, because Vladimir was that vampire. He never hunted humans. Even though he drank blood, it was in a thermos, meaning that rather he connected some needles and tubes to a live human and poured it into the drink, which even I would have to admit would be far fetch to say he did that to that human against his will, or he bought a blood bag from a donation. Vladimir wasn't like the vampires that destroyed my village. Not even ones that collected humans and sold them to other vampires for a buck. He had two brothers that were human or human hybrids he protected. Actually, the older one was his cousin, but that's beside the point. He had a human girlfriend. I had no doubt that Vladimir had humans he loved and protected. It was why I hesitated. It would go against my instincts to kill someone that still had humanity, even if he drank human blood as part of his diet.

"Lukas?" Emil asked. He took my hand and I looked at him. "I don't think it's a bad thing, if you wanted to protect one vampire like you protect us. You're a vampire hunter, but you are still human. You're not a hunting dog."

I didn't have to tell Emil. He already knew, because of my silence. I smiled, then hugged him. I was overjoyed that Emil trusted me so much of my judgment. He knew if I would guard and protect one vampire, it was not going to be a killer vampire. Emil sighed.

"You're such a drama queen," Emil muttered.

"I know," I chuckled, then continued the hug. "His name is Vladimir Lupei and... he's a very good man. He comes from a vampire family with a little brother and cousin that are human."

"Vampires are born _human_?" Emil asked, surprised and interested.

"Yes. Human hybrids actually. They can choose to stay human, but must give up drinking human blood. They are still seen as family, despite their choice. Vladimir loves his family, even those that are human hybrids. His girlfriend is human too and he loves her very dearly," I said, seeing the rare smile on Emil's face.

"How old are they?"

"The cousin is about a year or two older, I think. The brother is ten."

From there, Emil had kept my secret friendship with Vladimir. I felt touched how much he trusted my judgment and never held back asking questions about Vladimir and his vampire family. I couldn't blame his curiosity. The closer I came to Vladimir, the more broadened my mind became about vampires and the vampire world. It was different than what I was taught or thought my entire life. It made me question everything I knew about vampires. Living as a vampire was different than knowing vampires from the perspective of a vampire hunter. I began realizing that maybe Tim was wrong about what he thought of vampires.

Vladimir and Rosie invited me to dine with them at a tea shop. Rosie enjoyed drinking tea. Of course, I preferred coffee and so did Vladimir, but he enjoyed pleasing his girlfriend more. I found that very cute and it reminded me of Emma and I. I will get to Emma later. I began asking more questions. Most of it was Academy stuff and the couple creating a Hellfire Club. They invited me, but I turned them down. Dungeons and Dragons wasn't my thing. It was afterwards we started asking questions about each other.

"I actually am curious, what made you start hunting vampires?" Vladimir asked. Rosie knew about my hobby and I found out she was very worried at first, but accepted that if I intended on hurting Vladimir, I would have done it already.

"A clan of them destroyed my village," I bluntly replied. Rosie placed her hand over her mouth, incredibly flabbergasted, while Vladimir looked incredibly horrified.

"O Doamne, I'm so sorry," Vladimir said as I nodded.

"Thank you. My family and I were the only survivors from the massacre, all five of us. Tim took us in and treated us like family. He taught us how to hunt vampires, so that we would never have to face a tragedy like that again."

"Do you know why they did that?"

"No and I didn't really care, other than the fact they were monsters. That was all that mattered to me. I didn't question a vampire's humanity... until maybe a week or so ago," I said, mentioning the first day Vladimir and I met at the bookstore.

"...Oh," Vladimir realized. In other words, I didn't know there could be _good_ vampires so to speak, until I met Vladimir. I thought all vampires were like animals. "More vampires are good people, but they tend to hide."

"Hm?" I questioned, looking up.

"Most vampires live in cities like these under a protection program. We try to live normal lives here. Many of us go to school, get degrees, work, make money and try to make ends meet. It's harder when you consider our diet. Blood doesn't come cheap and doners are even more rare."

"Doners? You mean...?" I was confused with that one. Didn't Vladimir drink blood from donations?

"A human that's willing to allow me to drink his or her blood. Though, he or she has to be the right age and type. Even Rosie hasn't reached that age yet," Vladimir explained.

"I'm 18, but my iron level is way too low. Bonkers if you ask me," Rosie complained.

"So wait, vampires can't drink certain human blood? Not even _children_ blood?" I asked with shock. Tim taught me that vampires didn't care what blood type or human you were as long as your blood was flowing.

"Nu. It's too raw and too small of portion. Not to mention it can make us sick and kill the human. I suppose maybe if they have been starved for a few months," Vladimir replied, shrugging. "Now, maybe during the first stages of transformation, things can get a little violent, but that only lasts what? A few months? Days if the human isn't born a vampire? Even so, after the first bite, it tastes like _ick_. Now, your blood would be fine. I'd probably go for you as my blood doner for $30 a week."

"Really?" I asked, smirking slightly. "I might charge ya a little more. You are talking _vampire hunter_ blood."

"Na, still blood. Now, if you were like 30 or the size of a hippo, then I might raise the price. The older and fatter the human, the tastier the blood."

"Well, I just learned something new," I smirked slightly. Then, it dawned on me that when my village was massacred, the only survivors were children. There were children that died though, but older ones and the rest were infants or small ones that died from starvation or the burning of houses. Alot of houses burned that day. Still, it did bring up a question. "Why would a clan of vampires massacre a whole village and leave children without anyone to bring them up?"

"Good question," Vladimir replied. We knew there was no doubt this clan wasn't just massacring humans for their blood, but there might've been another motive. This was the first time I realized that, that vampires can have another motive for a massacre like that, besides thirst or hunger.

* * *

So, here I was again, having just seen the vision of now my close friend Vladimir being killed, no _murdered_ by Tim's blade. I knew where I stood. Vladimir was not the vampires that massacred my village and I was not a hunting dog. I hunted vampires, but not all vampires were meant to be hunted, just like not all pigs were meant to be slaughtered. Emil understood this and trusted me. He knew if I was friends with any vampire, it wasn't going to be one that was different from the ones we hunted. That wasn't to say Magnus thought so, especially Tim.

I could see Berwald and Tino considering that maybe there was at least one vampire that wasn't like the ones that slaughtered our home. Though, it would take a lot of time and stalking me for obvious reasons. Beyond that, once they saw that Vladimir was a good person, they'd back off. Magnus though... he often overreacted. He would call Tim right away and I knew Tim. Tim never believed any vampire could possibly be good and would not hesitate to kill Vladimir, if it meant protecting me. I knew this. That was why I had been keeping this secret from everyone. Emil kept it from everyone, because he trusted me. The others, though? I knew it would not be simple and straightforward like with Emil. They would find out and once it got to Tim, he would kill Vladimir and I would not hesitate to be violent and hurt him. To me, Vladimir was no different than any of my other friends or family.

"What'd you see?" Vladimir finally asked me. I had to catch my breath.

There was also Emma. What would she say? Would she trust me? Even if she did, I knew Tim would eventually read her and know something was going on with me and that I was befriending a vampire. I didn't know what to do. I sat down, trying to think of how to prevent what I just saw.

"I saw... Tim is going to kill you... as soon as he find out I'm close friends with a vampire, he... and I..." I finally said, staring at the ground with such shock.

Vladimir came to me and held me. He promised, "we'll figure something out."

I shook my head. "You're not safe around me. Everyone will find out. Emil trusts me, but... my family... they won't understand."

"Hey, hey, calm down. We'll figure something out. We'll have a plan. Sure, we might have a platonic Romeo and Juliet thing going on, but we can sort this out," Vladimir assured in his own usual way.

"That's reassuring," I spat out sarcastically.

"We will! Just..." He was trying to figure out a plan.

"Once they find out about you, they'll call up Tim and he will hunt you down like an animal," I said bluntly.

"Then... let's not try to keep secrets."

"You mean tell them. Yes, great idea. 'Hey guys, I befriended a vampire, who doesn't slaughter people and I know it seems totally against everything we were ever taught, but ignore it and accept that Tim was wrong about vampires.' 'Hey Tim, you were wrong about vampires, because I'm friends with one. Goodbye.'"

"Okay, maybe not like that, but maybe you can introduce me to your family."

I stared at him, glaring, "yep, you're nuts."

"Hold-it! Hold-it! Hear me out! Like, you're a vampire hunter, you can disguise me as a human. If they don't know I'm a human, than I'm in the safe zone. Then, once they see that I'm a cool guy, then we can tell them I'm a vampire and problem solved."

"You really are nuts."

"It's worth a shot. What do we have to lose?"

"Do you seriously want me to answer that?"

"Okay, bad question. But seriously, what other plans do you have?"

"Moving far far away?"

"Seriously!"

"Ugh fine. I'll follow your insane plan, but you are going to have to do everything I say and the first thing you are to do is find a plan B for Victor and Alek."

"Of course I will! _I kinda was planning the whole bit_ ," Vladimir muttered, his eyes gazing away as I sighed, turning around.

"What am I going to do with you?" I muttered, facepalming.

"It'll work out! It'll work out! They're probably just scared. You said your village was destroyed by a clan of vampires. I'd hate my kind too, if I were them. They just need to see me for me and if I disguise myself, they will and me being a vampire won't matter. I mean think, Lukus, would they kill you if you became a vampire?"

"Vladimir!"

"Would they!?"

"I don't know! Maybe not, I guess!"

"See?"

I sighed, then said, "first, get some contacts. We need to get rid of the red. At least make it more orange, so they'll just see you as albino. Tim isn't here, so you might be able to fool them."

"Okay, contacts, got it!"

"Cover as much skin as you can, so that when you touch them, they won't notice the cooling temperature of your skin. Maybe stay in the sun or warm areas for a while."

"Check and check. Contacts, stay in warm areas for long time, cover everything except face. Anything else?"

"Hm..." I began thinking. Contacts that made Vladimir look albino would make his pale skin passable, so it was a matter of his body temperature feeling normal. Covering his skin would make Tim suspect something, but Magnus would think nothing of it. He would take it that Vladimir had chills easily, since even he had a problem with that himself. So far, if Vladimir played his cards right with this, he could pass. There was just one thing. "Your fangs." They would certainly be a problem, but how can Vladimir cover those?

"I have fake ones. I was actually supposed to use those at the Academy," Vladimir admitted. I glared at him.

"And why didn't you?"

"Because, people think my pointy teeth are cool."

I groaned, facepalming. I finally said, "whatever! Just use those around my place and _only_ take them off at the Academy. Even if Magnus caught you, you're insane enough to use the _I pretend to be a vampire for lols_ excuse."

Vladimir laughed, then said, "damn right. I'm a proud vampire!"

"With your insanity, you're going to be the death of me."

"Perhaps."

Vladimir grinned and I had to smile. Why did I end up protecting insane people? Thus, the real insanity began. The next day, I got ready for school, hearing Magnus whine like a child like he always does.

"Why do you have to go now!?" Magnus whined.

"Because, if I'm going to be an Architect, I'm going to need that Bachelor's," I replied bluntly, combing my hair.

"But, you hardly ever stay and spend time with us! You're always going to school!"

"Five hours a day. The rest is at home. You can't last five hours, four days a week without me?"

"NO!"

I sighed, rolling my eyes as Tino chuckled, "maybe you should go to school with him, That's what I did with Berwald."

"Hmph," Berwald responded. He never said much.

"But, school is boring!" Magnus complained. He then turned to me. "When was the last you spoke to Emma anyways?"

"Emma and I will video chat tomorrow. She has work too," I replied, then heard the doorbell. "You're late!"

"School doesn't start in-" Vladimir replied on the other side, contacts and false teeth, opening the door, which had the chain lock on. "Seriously!?"

"That's what you get for being late."

"Who's this?" Magnus asked, looking back at Vladimir.

"A prick," I replied.

"This isn't funny, Lukas! Let me in!" Vladimir replied, obviously annoyed. Emil finally unlocked the chain lock. "Thanks, kid."

Emil shrugged, earbuds still in his ear. Berwald raised two eyebrows at Vladimir, while Tino stared in question. Probably, because I never mentioned Vladimir to anyone, except Emil. Even Magnus seemed out of the loop.

"I didn't know you invited friends over," Magnus said, staring at Vladimir.

"I didn't. He's supposed to pick me up and was late," I said.

"You said before school starts and it doesn't start in another 30 minutes!" Vladimir replied, glaring slightly.

"You always come 45 minutes early or earlier, prick," I replied, folding my arms.

"Sorry, I don't meet your standards of being on time," Vladimir grinned playfully as I sighed.

"Whatever. Are you ready?"

"Da."

"Nice to meet you," Emil said plainly as Vladimir smiled, nodding.

"Is that your little bro?" Vladimir asked.

"Yeah. He's always off to himself," I replied.

"Kinda like you."

"Wha- I am not!" I denied, flush on my cheeks as Vladimir chuckled.

"And, who's the rest of the clan?"

"I'm Magnus! Lukie and I are like bros! We've known each other, since kids!" Magnus introduced himself as Vladimir laughed.

"That's cool. I bet you do everything together."

"Sure do! Those two are Berwald and Tino. Berwald looks scary, but he's cool. Tino is too," Magnus introduced.

"Hello," Tino greeted, shaking Vladimir's hand. He turned to me. "You like him?"

"Still debating that," I replied as Vladimir laughed.

"Glad to see you," Tino replied.

"Same. You kinda remind me of my own family. We're tight like this too, though I had to move away from them. I still have Alek, Victor and my gal Rosie," Vladimir replied proudly.

I swallowed my throat. Great, Vladimir is going to bring up his family? Well, at least the human ones. I suppose it's fine. It was his human family that got me to thinking differently about Vladimir. Maybe he could do the same to Magnus and the others.

"Wait, was that the girl you said already had a boyfriend, Lukie?" Magnus asked as I finally chuckled.

"I'm not helping you get laid, Mag," I said as everyone began laughing.

"Wow, you're as crazy as Alfred. You'd like him. He's Rosie's brother," Vladimir said.

"Does he like to watch action movies and play video games?" Magnus asked.

"Da."

"We need to talk!"

"Sure thing."

"Can we not be late? We've got 15 minutes," I pointed out.

"SHOOT! Sorry, can't be late for class. Nice meeting you!" Vladimir said, rushing over to the car as I followed along.

Tino called out, the door wide open, "be safe!" He stopped me, then whispered, _"I know you are the first to spot a vampire a mile away before any of us, and kill it."_ The blood was about to drain from me when I heard the tone in Tino's voice that was his true person from the sugary front he placed. _"Be careful."_ I turned to him, seeing his facial expression. He was worried, but he also knew me to know I wouldn't normally befriend a vampire.

"Thank you," I said sincerely. Tino smiled, nodding.

I was relieved that at least two people in my life trusted me wholeheartedly and knew that if I was caught dead with a vampire, it wasn't one anyone would normally hunt. Tino was the most dangerous out of all of us, but if he trusted my judgment, then it was a huge relief. I might even have people to defend me. Then again, in my vision, I saw Magnus and Tim, not Tino, Berwald or Emma. Vladimir was not safe, until I was sure Magnus and Tim trusted me.

 _"Thank Wald. He saw it and knew you saw something different in Vladimir. Though, this will be out of Magnus' and Tim's ears,"_ Tino promised as I nodded, then made my way to the car.

"That wasn't so bad!" Vladimir grinned, driving from the neighborhood.

"Berwald and Tino know, though. That's probably why Tino introduced himself. He's actually the most dangerous among us, despite how overly nice he seems. It's kinda used, because enemies are likely to put their guard down around nice people. It also is used to brighten up the atmosphere. I suppose he was testing you in a way," I mentioned.

"Ah. Clever man. He seemed okay with me, though."

"He was. He trusts me, I suppose. Says that Berwald was the one that convinced him that I saw something different in you. Magnus though, he's the one you should be worried about."

"What exactly happened in your vision?"

"... I saw Tim stab you in the chest with his sword, while I was fighting against Magnus' ax with my dagger," I admitted.

"Wait, he has an ax?"

"Yep."

"Cool!" Vladimir exclaimed with glittering eyes as I sighed.

"Do you realize he could kill you?"

"Da, but that's not to say I can't compliment his choice of weaponry."

"You are impossible."

Vladimir laughed, dropping us off to school and barely making it to class on time. At least we were only late by five minutes.

* * *

Still, this was only a start, not the solution. I couldn't just invite Vladimir over continuously and Emma was going to have a video chat with me very soon. I began debating if I should tell her or not. She has always trusted me and I always told her everything. Then again, I always told Magnus everything and now I'm having to keep one secret to protect my insane, crazy loon for a friend. What made this more stressful was the fact the murderer was to be Emma's brother, someone she looked up to. How could I tell her that her brother was wrong about vampires?

I took a deep breath, then prepared the video chat in my room on my computer as I saw the blond beauty sitting in front of the screen. She had that cute, perky smile that was almost cat-like. She had her hunting gear on from the recent hunting I suppose. I smiled.

 _"I missed you so much, Luke. My brother and I went on the hills and caught a bandit of vampires and their blood trafficking,"_ Emma said excitedly.

What blood trafficking was, was when a group of vampires organize the buying and selling of live humans for their blood against their will. Think of sex trafficking, only with drinking blood. Sometimes, it was a mix of blood and sex. That was how it all worked. Vladimir did joke about buying _doners_ , but it was human volunteering, which I had accepted, after accepting not all and most vampires were not like the ones Emma and Tim hunted daily.

"I tip my hat to you, my lady," I replied with a confident smirk as Emma giggled.

 _"It was a lot of fun."_

"Wish it was so here. Things have been crazy," I said truthfully.

 _"What's going on. I see lines that read,_ something happened that's putting a lot on my mind and unless I say something, I'm going to lose it _,"_ Emma smirked slightly as I gave a smirk of my own in return.

"You read me so well, don't you?"

 _"You know I do. So, what's up?"_

"Is Tim at the house?"

 _"Na, he's going shopping. Is it bad?"_ Emma asked, now looking worried.

"It's... up there," I muttered, my eyes gazing away from the screen. "You ever watched Fox and the Hound?" I had to bring that up again like with Emil. Knowing Emma, it was the only subtle way she could understand without becoming emotionally afraid or stressed.

 _"Yes... what about it?"_

"Have you ever wondered why Copper wanted to protect Todd so strongly? Like even when he was trained as a hunting dog and vowed to kill Todd after the train incident, he still stood in front of his master to protect the one he was supposed to kill. Going against his instincts."

 _"Well, I think that's getting too much into a children's movie, but... if I had to guess, I would say it was because he grew up with Todd and knew him beyond just being a fox. Like the lion protecting the lamb sort of thing or dog befriending the cat. Not something that normally happens, but when it does, it's something that goes beyond just predator instincts. Those are rare cases, but happen from time to time."_

"What if the fox and hound met as adult and not just kids growing up? Maybe, after Copper having known to hunt foxes their whole life, had found that Todd wasn't like most foxes that eat the farmer's chickens, sheep and goats. Maybe Todd protected the farm animals instead of eating them like vampires protecting humans. Would that be them going against their instincts as hunting dog and fox or is there another type of instinct?" I asked.

Looking at Emma's face on the screen, I knew the realization was hitting her of what I was talking about. The instinct of a vampire hunter is to hunt vampires, but what if one wasn't like the blood traffickers and instead protected humans? Even for me, the answer should be to kill the vampire, because there is no such thing as good vampires. Yet, I saw one in front of my eyes and I could not deny it no longer. It would mean that Tim was wrong. It would mean that everything I was ever taught, ever known, was wrong.

My fears got the best of me and I finally said, "sorry I asked. Let's-"

 _"Lukas..."_ Emma said and I stared at the screen. _"What makes Todd different from all the other foxes that eat chickens, goats and sheep?"_ I knew what she was asking and it was a code for _what makes this particular vampire different?_

"He was a pet like how Copper was a pet dog. He was raised by an owner, a master just like Copper was. They both had a family, a home, a life. Copper was not hunting a wild fox that lived in the woods and had the instincts of a wild fox. He was told to hunt a pet that lived with his owner and was trying to live his life in peace. Can it be helped that he was born a fox? You can be a duck, raised by bears, but still be a duck, but that duck will not fit in with the other ducks, because he does not live or act like the other ducks, he lives and acts what he's raised to be. Todd was not raised to be a wild fox, but a pet, so Copper saw Todd as a pet, not a wild fox he hunted."

 _"Hm... but, if Copper and Todd did not grow up together, they still don't know each other. How would Copper know where Todd gets his food? For all he knows, he could just be eating off of other farmers' animals."_

"But, he doesn't, and it is clear he doesn't, because he always gets his food from his master like how Copper gets his food from his owner. He sees Copper being fed from the old lady. His master buys his food from the store and puts it in his food bowl, just like how Copper's owner buys his food from the store. Todd's family is also those farm animals. That's why he protects them. The chickens, goats and sheep are his family, his precious loved ones he must protect and give him a reason to live, just like Copper has his own chickens, goats and sheep from his master's farm."

 _"When did you see this?"_ Emma asked, this time a bit curious.

"I saw it at the book store. I saw Todd with those chickens. He never took his eyes off them and protected them. The goats he played with and protected just as much. The sheep, he loved wholeheartedly and talked with them everyday. Each of them had a special place in Todd's heart and when Copper saw that, he could not find it in himself to hunt down Todd. Even though his master took him out and trained him, Copper could not bring harm to Todd. Todd and Copper were no different, aside from their species. Before Copper knew it, he began talking and befriending Todd, because they both were neighbors working at the same job their masters told them to do. They loved each other instantly and knew they would always protect each other, because they were both pets protecting their herd at the end of the day."

 _"... I suppose foxes that are trained to be pets will act as pets. Though, do you think Copper is afraid of telling his master the truth?"_ Emma asked.

"He is. He sees that his master will take his gun one day and shoot Todd to protect Copper, not knowing the harm he's doing. If that happens, I fear Copper may end up hurting his master, because of his predatory instincts. For his master, he is just killing another fox, but for Copper, his master just murdered a hunting dog just like himself, even if he may not look like one. Todd's actions speak louder for Copper than his species."

Emma began seeing the fear I held and it seemed as if that fear was now inside her as well. She knew this would not turn out good. She looked at me, her face showing she didn't know the answer. It seemed as if she wanted to come see me, but knew that would get her brother wild up and follow her, even if it was for the excuse of being closer to me. Tim was very protective. I finally had to say something.

"I think... Copper will find a way of settling things with his master. Though, it might take time. It might also mean that Copper will have to leave his master with the chickens, goats and sheep, maybe Chief. If not, he knows Todd will be killed and no one will protect Todd's chickens, goats and sheep. Would you hate Copper for making that kind of choice."

 _"Absolutely not. I could never hate him, but Lukas,"_ Emma said as I looked up. _"I wish you luck at school. Please keep me in touch and keep the others safe."_

"Always. Em, tell Tim I said I miss him," I said with a smile as Emma smiled perkily, nodding.

 _"Thank you for being honest with me. What's your friend's name?"_

"Vladimir Lupei," I said confidently, knowing Emma trusted me.

Of all the difficult decisions I've made in my life, this one was the most difficult one. In the past, my family was my only priority and still is, but now they are no longer my only priority. Even my family must know their limitations. If they are wrong, they need to be called out. They need to be set straight. They need to know when they are wrong. I have lived a whole week in secrets that kept building. Being I often am open to my family, this was bigger than I could bare. I had to be open about this. Vladimir was right. I cannot keep this a secret any longer.

I walked into the living room where Magnus was playing video games with Emil's friend Leon. Emil sometimes invited Leon over, who was a video games pro. He enjoyed beating Magnus in almost every single video game, including Halo. Magnus was complaining and whining like a baby again.

"Damnit!" Magnus whined.

Emil sighed, "you're never gonna win against him, you know."

"Let him. He's the most entertaining one of the bunch," Leon replied.

"Of course I am, because I'm awesome!" Magnus bragged as I sighed.

"Magnus!" I called as Magnus looked up, then looked at the boys.

"Later, gotta check on Lukie," Magnus told Leon, who nodded before he approached me, then followed me to my room before I closed the door. "Need something?"

"I think it's time we officially made our own way together without Tim," I finally said.

"Huh? But why? I mean I know you're working for your Bachelor's and all, but what made you decide? Something happen?"

"Yes. My priority has always been my family and it always will. Though, my priorities have broadened and not just for my college degree, but for how we hunt," I began. Magnus' eyebrows rose. "Things have changed from when we lived in the Netherlands where blood trafficking was the common norm. Just last week, I met a vampire with a human family, a little brother only ten and another brother close to his age. All were blood related. They protected each other like how we protect each other. I've been debating for a while, but the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt to destroy this family, because one happened to grow a pair of fags for whatever reason, accidental or purposeful. We have to ask ourselves what limitations we have before we can let our prey go. Emil trusts me and so do Berwald and Tino, who all know the vampire I have recently grown close to."

"Wait, hold up, you're close to a vampire!?"

"Yes, because I've come to realize I like him, though even if that never happened, he is still a family man that has not harmed any human. As long as that remains true, I will protect him from you or Tim. If you hurt him, I will go after the one that lays a hand on him, but not because I love him more than you. It's because I love you that I will not tolerate any of you taking a life that has not proven any offense. This is about right or wrong and we all must be held accountable for everything we do. You know that I'm not someone that will allow any closeness to take away my sense of judgment or common sense, so you know I would not normally befriend or be swooned by any vampiric charm. On that note, you also know that if I mean this, than the first time Tim tests me will be his last."

Magnus gave me a disapproval glare, but even he could not argue against me or my warning. I knew there would be conflict. I knew that this would be the start of the biggest disagreement and perhaps a debate war between all of us. Though, this conflict was needed. I would have no regrets. Magnus would always love and care for me. That's why he would hate Vladimir.

Though, this also would be the start of something bigger than the both of us. It would be the start of my permanent transition of what I once I was to who I am now. I'm no longer the vampire hunter I once ways just last week. I did wait for how Magnus was going to respond to this News before I did anything. That night, I heard him call Tim, thinking I was asleep.

 _"I'm glad you're coming. I don't know what I'm going to do about Lukas. I mean, who is this vampire? What's he doing to him?"_ Magnus asked, freaking out. He was always loud, too loud. He also lacked common sense or he would've texted Tim instead of calling him.

I had to prevent that vision from coming true. If this was how it was going to be for Magnus and Tim, then so be it. I make my own predictions. I proved this the next morning before class started. I woke up earlier than everyone else, then drove to Vladimir's apartment. Knocking on the door, I sighed, then waited for Vladimir to open it, who was still in his boxers. My guess is that Alek and Victor were asleep. It was early in the morning.

"Why you up so early?" Vladimir asked tiredly.

"I had to be here earlier than Magnus and before Tim gets here," I said as Vladimir's eyes lit up. I stared at him in the eyes with determination and some stubbornness. "Change me."

"You mean...?" Vladimir asked, very surprised.

"I want to be a vampire. You can do it and... I trust you," I replied as Vladimir smirked slightly.

"We only met just a week and a half ago."

"So?"

"Come in," Vladimir replied as I entered inside. I slipped off my shirt before allowing Vladimir's fangs along my neck. "This may hurt a bit." Then, I felt the bite. That would be the start of the most painful week of my life, but I regretted nothing.

 **I don't know if I'm going to continue. I am likely to, if I have any ideas for a continuation of this. I ended it like this, because I felt it was the perfect ending that ended the main conflict of this story. At this point, Lukas is no longer confused or conflicted on what he wants and already has decided what he wants. Thus, it ends with a bang. I hope you enjoyed this :)**


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